“All this must be filmed,” director Anastasia Trofimova said to explain why she began filming “Russians at War.” The documentary was presented in the category of “Out of Competition” at the 81st Venice Film Festival. Trofimova, who studied in Canada, had previously worked with RT (formerly Russia Today) and then with the French service of…
A university professor fired for sharing anti-war videos has been arrested for disobeying police orders and fined under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, local media in the city of Volgograd reported Thursday, citing anonymous law enforcement sources. Roman Melnichenko, who previously taught constitutional and municipal law at Volgograd State University, was fired in April 2022 and subsequently…
The White House urged Google, Microsoft and other major U.S. tech companies to increase access to state-funded software that helps Russians bypass online censorship, Reuters reported Thursday. In response to Moscow’s growing crackdown on wartime dissent, the U.S. government-backed Open Technology Fund (OTF) has been financing several American firms to offer free virtual private networks…
Russian law enforcement authorities pressed criminal charges against exiled singer Monetochka for breaking the country’s law on “foreign agents,” Moscow’s Prosectuor’s Office announced Friday. Monetochka, whose real name is Elizaveta Gyrdymova, fled Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to her opposition to the war. She was designated a “foreign agent” last year. Authorities…
Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad killed at least one person and injured more than 50 others, including three children, authorities said Friday afternoon. The attacks led to “several fires in the city,” including at a high-rise apartment building, according to regional governor Sergiy Lysak. He said a nine-year-old girl and two boys…
Russia’s Central Bank announced Friday that it will extend limits on foreign cash withdrawals, capping the amount at $10,000 until next spring. The Central Bank first introduced the restrictions in March 2022 after the U.S. and EU halted cash transfers of dollars and euros to Russia. At the same time, private customers withdrew some $9…
ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev and the Agency Director General Rafael Grossi head Delegations. On 6 September, another round of interdepartmental consultations between the Russian Federation and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held in Kaliningrad. The Russian delegation, led by ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev, included Alexander Trembitskiy, Head of Rostechnadzor; Mikhail Ulyanov,…
Residents of 81 federal subjects of Russia will vote in regional and municipal elections starting Friday. The elections mark the second time this year that Russians are heading to the polls following the March presidential election. That vote, which saw Vladimir Putin win a fifth term virtually unchallenged, was marred by widespread reports of vote tampering,…
Moscow will impose restrictions on American media outlets in response to new U.S. sanctions on the state-funded RT news network, the Kremlin said Friday. The United States indicted two RT employees and sanctioned its top editors on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election. “A like response is not possible.…
A Russian court froze the shares of Raiffeisenbank’s Russian subsidiary, further stalling the sale of the largest Western bank still operating in the country, the lender’s Austrian parent company said Thursday. “A Russian court has today issued a preliminary injunction, by which shares of AO Raiffeisenbank are subject to a transfer ban with immediate effect,” Raiffeisen Bank…
France’s criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov has raised fears among Russian users about their digital privacy and in some cases deepened distrust toward Western authorities. The Russian-French billionaire was detained at a Paris airport last month on charges of enabling criminal activity on Telegram. He was later released pending an investigation but is…
Voting in Russia’s three-day local and regional elections began on Friday, with Kremlin-backed candidates expected to dominate a political landscape all but devoid of meaningful competition. Voters will elect governors in 21 regions, legislative assembly members in 13 regions, including two in annexed Crimea, and scores of local officials on Sept. 6-8. In the Kursk…
Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov on Thursday hit out at French authorities for arresting and charging him last month over the publication of extremist and illegal content on the popular messaging app. In a lengthy post on Telegram, his first public remarks since his arrest, Durov said it was “surprising” that he was…